Kumatoo

Wabeladio Payi

Wabeladio Payi from Congo-Kinshasa is the inventor of the Mandombe writing. The word Mandombe means "that which is Black" in Kongo language. The journey of this writing started in 1978.

In 1982, Wabeladio Payi receives patent No. 2505/82 from the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Republic of Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo or Congo-Kinshasa) for this writing. However, it is only in 1994 that the writing is officially presented to the public.

The Mandombe contributes in transcribing Kikongo, Lingala, Swahili and Tshiluba, and several other languages of Central and Southern Africa. This transcription work is carried out by the Mandombe Academy.

More than 540,000 people have already learned this writing in training centers called "Nsanda" in Central Africa, and more than 3,700 people across Western Europe and North America.

Because of its growing importance, a computer operating system in Mandombe writing was developed. This operating system is called "Lundombe." Thus, it is possible to use a word processing software, among others, to write Mandombe on an electronic device. http://lundombe.zaya-dio.com/ website, exclusively written in Mandombe, proves it.

Africans should understand that valorizing their languages, as well as the development of endogenous writing systems are crucial tools that will ease the learning of sciences, art, etc. because they are better suited to our socio-cultural environment.